Port of Keelung - First Glipmses

We had been travelling along the coast of Taiwan, and were now entering into the Port of Keelung. This boat was leading the way. Taiwan was certainly an interesting island, but lots more of that to come in later posts.

A working Harbour

A view of the harbour for you all, at least one section of it. Those cranes are massive, and we can see all the shipping containers all lined up on the dock ready to be lifted onto ships to be taken wherever. I guess they could fit quite a few ships along that dock at one time.

Coastal Sailing

We were sailing along the coast to our next port of call. Along the way we spotted little towns hugging the coast, reaching up into the hillsides. There were also many boats going about their business, and that eternal smog coming from China.

Sailing

 

We were back on the seas again sailing along the coast towards our next port of call. This is just one of the many boats that we saw in the late afternoon sun. Notice all the haze too. That haze, so I found out later, was all coming from China.

An Escort

An escort boat leading our cruise ship out of the harbour.

Our Cruise Ship

This was a view of our cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, as she lay in port in Okinawa. This was taken from the bus window as we left for our tour. Our cabin was on the other side, up towards to front, so not visible from here. We were also up the top with our own personal balcony.

The Diamond Princess has room for 2,700 passengers, with 1,100 crew. She is 952 feet long, 205 feet high, and has 18 decks. There are five main dining rooms, a buffet, an Italian restaurant, a steakhouse, a burger grill, a pizzeria, a hamburger grill, an ice cream parlour, 6 theatres and lounges, 4 pools, a gym, and much more. Is it any wonder I like cruising?

The "A" Line

This was view now from the other side of our ship as we sailed into port in Okinawa. This was the cargo side of the harbour, with big cranes ready to lift containers off their transport. I am not sure what this "A" Line boat was, there were no containers on board, and no portholes as such or windows for passengers to look out of. Still, it was part of this busy port of Okinawa .

A Boat

Just a pic of a boat that we saw from the other side of the ship. Not sure of the purpose of this boat. At first I thought it may have been a fishing boat, but I think maybe it may have been some tourist attraction.  Either way it is a type of boat we don't see very often

The Atrium - Diamond Princess

We were finally on board the beautiful Diamond Princess and could breath a sigh of relaxation.

We had booked shore tours before we left home, and as we unpacked in our cabin we found a note saying our shore tour for the next day had been cancelled. We did discuss what we would do & decided to have a quiet day relaxing on board. The last five days had been very full on and we both needed a rest. We did go and have a look at all the other shore tours that were still on offer, and to do this we went via the Atrium.

The Atrium is the center section of the Diamond Princess and is three levels high. If you find yourself in the Atrium, you can find your way to anything on board. Dining rooms, the main desk, shopping, bars, lounges, theater,  the list goes on.

I personally was more interested in the artwork that went three levels in height.

A Cruise Ship

Look where we were headed! Yes, that is the Diamond Princess, and we were in the queue to board her! It had been another long day so far and I was soooooo looking forward to some relaxation! We had cruised before, and we knew from experience that cruises could be as relaxed or as busy as we wanted. We were opting for relaxation mode for the next seven days.

We had taken the time to have a very good breakfast before we left our hotel in Tokyo. This was required because we knew we had some travelling to go through before boarding this beautiful ship. The Princess was departing from Yokohama, and we had been told it was three trains and a good two hours to get there. We went prepared with bottles of water, but the weather was hot, and the water  was all gone by the time we got to the wharf. Then there was the three hour queue getting through customs etc before we even got on board. They did set up a water station, but one small cup of water did not go very far. One lady feinted because of the heat.

It was 2pm by the time we got on board, and my first task after finding our cabin was to find food and drinks. A very helpful cabin staff member helped me out and I soon discovered, just upstairs, the hamburger and pizza bar, right beside a drinks bar. A plate of hot chips and a cold coke went down very well. Not quite the best food for a diet but it was food, and we would find all the healthy options later.

Sumida River Cruise Pt 11 - Hotaluna

A "Hotaluna" is a very modern space ship like water vessel that runs cruises up and down the Sumida River and out into Tokyo Bay. They are apparently the latest in technology, and the latest vessels to be added to the fleet of boats to cruise these waterways, No, we were not on one of these, we were just lucky enough to pass one on our cruise up the Sumida River.

Sumida River Cruise Pt 10 - A Second Waterway

This was a second feeder waterway that we passed. It looked like another walkway bridge, and there looked like there were still more walkway bridges  further up the waterway. The high rise is minimum ten stories high. Row after row of it.

There was a meeting of some kind happening on the bridge. a group of men were milling around talking. It may have been a formal meeting about something, but more than likely just an afternoon tea/smoking break.

There were  also more boats moored up this waterway. they we different to those in the last waterway. These were flat bottomed and quite wide ( Sanpans?). I can only dream as to their purpose.

Water Vessels

Still on the Hinode Pier, we were getting close to this lovely red vessel. We were all still secretly hoping that this would be our river cruise transport. Alas this was not to be. Instead we were led on board some kind of flat bottomed, fully enclosed   river cat vessel.

We were towards the end of the queue when boarding, so by the time we got on board, all of the good viewing seats were gone. I had to make do with avoiding heads and hands in all my photos.

Back to the above water vessel, I never did find out what it was for. possibly a floating restaurant? Whatever it's use, there is some lovely decoration at the front on the side. My mind is thinking lace.......mmmmmm .......... will have to think long & hard before starting another piece. It is pretty to look at though.

A River Cruise Begins

We were back on the bus with our tour guide and transported to the next part of out tour of Tokyo. This was to be a river cruise, departing from Hinode Pier.

This was the view of Hinode Pier as we played follow the leader to board our vessel that would take us on this trip. In the background we have the Intercontinental Hotel, and in the foreground we have a gorgeous boat. Was I hoping too much that this would be our transport up the Sumida River?